Director, Brand Value

The Value Brand Director will lead the strategic direction, innovation, and growth of KFC’s value platform—driving transaction growth, brand relevance, and consumer appeal. This role is responsible for developing and executing long-term value strategies that attract new guests, strengthen brand loyalty, and sustain profitable system growth.

A commercially minded and analytically strong leader, the Value Brand Director will balance brand strategy with financial discipline, leading a cross-functional team to deliver compelling, insight-driven value initiatives that perform for both consumers and franchisees. The ideal candidate will bring deep expertise in brand management, innovation, and franchised business models, demonstrating the ability to create breakthrough strategies and drive sustainable results across the KFC US system.
 

Strategic Leadership & Brand Positioning

• Develop and execute long-term value strategies that strengthen KFC’s competitive position within the QSR category.
• Define and evolve the Disruptive Value and Everyday Value platforms, ensuring alignment with brand priorities and consumer demand.
• Partner with Consumer Insights, Finance, and Operations to validate strategies through robust analytics and ensure alignment with profitability and equity goals.
• Build an 18-month value innovation pipeline, ensuring a consistent runway of initiatives that drive growth and brand differentiation.
• Champion data-driven decision-making to balance short-term results with long-term brand health and system success.

Value Innovation & Pipeline Management

• Oversee the end-to-end value innovation process, managing the cross-functional team responsible for concept development, testing, validation, and national launch.
• Lead ideation sessions, evaluate consumer insights, and translate findings into actionable innovation plans that fill the national calendar.
• Ensure projects move efficiently through Yum!’s stage-gate process, from concept to execution, maintaining high standards for speed, quality, and impact.
• Partner with cross-functional stakeholders to integrate innovation seamlessly into marketing campaigns and promotional strategies.

Financial & Analytical Ownership

• Own the value platform’s financial performance, including P&L accountability for traffic, margin, and sales growth.
• Build and manage financial models to forecast performance, evaluate business initiatives, and optimize investments across value and innovation portfolios.
• Partner with FP&A and franchise leadership to identify key business levers, ensuring disciplined resource allocation and ROI.

Franchise & Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Serve as the primary liaison between corporate and franchise partners on all value-related initiatives, pricing strategies, and marketing execution.
• Engage with the New Product Council, Marketing Subcommittee, and Test Market Task Force to align on test learnings and value launch decisions.
• Build trust-based relationships with franchisees, ensuring transparency and shared accountability for performance.
• Translate complex data into simple, actionable insights that enhance franchise profitability and consumer value perception.

Marketing Integration & Creative Development

• Oversee the development of marketing materials and campaign briefs related to Value News on both test and national calendars.
• Partner with creative agencies to deliver breakthrough communication that clearly articulates KFC’s value promise to consumers.
• Direct the creation of value tactics and promotional messaging that drive incremental transactions and strengthen brand affinity.

Leadership & Team Development

• Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing team of Brand Managers and Associate Brand Managers.
• Foster a culture of collaboration, accountability, and innovation across internal teams and external partners.
• Influence senior leadership by clearly communicating strategic trade-offs, consumer insights, and business opportunities.

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Finance, or related field required; MBA preferred.

Experience: 

• 12+ years of progressive brand management, marketing strategy, or commercial leadership experience within the food service, restaurant, or CPG industries.

• Proven ability to manage a brand or platform P&L and translate analytics into clear, strategic actions.

• Demonstrated success developing and launching innovation pipelines in a fast-paced, franchised environment.

• Strong collaborator with the ability to influence across a matrixed organization and franchise system.

• Exceptional communication, leadership, and relationship-building skills.

• Startup mentality with a track record of driving growth through creativity, agility, and disciplined execution.

Salary Range: $­­165,000 to $185,000 annually + bonus eligibility + stock-based compensation. This is the expected salary range for this position. Ultimately, in determining pay, we'll consider the successful candidate’s location, experience, and other job-related factors.